


Replacement Parts

by Sarisia (Rrrowr)



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Look it's a bit fucked up, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships, Unrequited Inui/Kaidou Kaoru
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-16
Updated: 2009-02-02
Packaged: 2018-10-15 20:26:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10557198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rrrowr/pseuds/Sarisia
Summary: When you can't have what you want, get something that looks like it.OrHazue has a crush on Inui and develops a plan to achieve his goals.





	1. Chapter 1

01.

Hazue'd noticed the older boy idly at first. You can hardly blame him for overlooking him. He was in the fifth grade and he was more concerned about the fact that his brother was playing - and winning, of course - his first match of the tournament, than with any other player on the courts. The only reason he'd noticed the other player at all was because of his brother. Because his brother had gone right up to the benches to accept the towel held out for him from a hand that was broad and dark - a hand which led to a long arm and wide shoulders and a pile of dark spikes and glasses.

Inui-sempai, his brother had called him.

It wasn't love or anything at all that struck Hazue about Inui. It was just suspicion - because Hazue could tell even with the glasses that Inui regarded Kaidoh differently than he did the other players.

"Do you like him?" Hazue had ended up asking Kaidoh after the tournament.

Kaidoh had shrugged. "He's nice enough," he said. "A good teammate. A good teacher. He helps me with my tennis a lot."

And that had been the end of it.

 

02.

Until Kaidoh had brought Inui home with him.

And Hazue saw the notebook in Inui's hands that had an intricate-looking titling system. It was easier to decipher upon closer inspection. It was the same kind of system that was taught to them in biology class.

A notebook about his brother.

The _fourth_ notebook about his brother, with the beginning date written on the front and dark, well worn edges of paper, and tape secured around the corners of the binding. A mechanical pencil hooked to the front cover - with plenty of lead - alongside the sliding erasers that click-clacked when he pushed it out.

And the details inside - tennis statistics, scores and methodology and preferences. Notes upon notes about each game and reference codes to other notebooks. Diagrams and graphs and few sketches. Personal information too. Birthdays and sociological behaviors. Lists of friends. List of family members-

Oh, so he _was_ in here after all.

Inui caught his inspection and shut the notebook in front of his face. "Asking permission first would've been better," Inui commented softly. He looked a bit upset. "I would've thought Kaidoh had taught you that."

"Sorry," he scowled. "But Kaoru-nii is Kaoru-nii and Hazue is Hazue."

Inui laughed softly and nodded. "Yes, that is true," and his head tilted slightly and Hazue could see his eyes above the rims of his glasses and Inui's gaze was soft and he was looking-

At his brother.

Oh.

So, _that's_ how it was.

 

03.

And they all got a little bit older together, and Inui and then Kaidoh went off to high school. Hazue finally got into junior high, and everyone knew him as the little brother of Kaidoh-buchou of the tennis club, even though he was the highest ranked in this class and was best in history (Kaidoh hated the subject). Hazue wrote screenplays for the drama club and was the most likely to get the lead roles in a production (Kaidoh couldn't be gotten on stage to save his life).

Hazue realized that, even though he and his brother could not be more different, the only thing that people saw was that they shared the same long, lithe limbs, the same lean musculature, and the same dark hair that hung straight into the same wide and sharply angled eyes.

And just to make it worse, when Hazue sighed, it sounded like a hiss.

Whenever Hazue received a bandanna in his locker as a gift from an admirer, he burned it.

"Do you think that when I get older I'll be just like you, Kaoru-nii?" he ended up asking.

Kaidoh was at his desk, scribbling an outline for a report. (Hazue's handwriting was much neater.) He paused at Hazue's question and said: "You are you and I am me. When you grow up, that won't change."

Hazue was insistent. "But will I be like you, do you think?"

Kaidoh shrugged. "If you want to, but I don't think we're much alike even now."

Which meant Hazue _could_ be, if he wanted to, even if he _didn't_.

04\. Then one evening, Inui came over for a quick visit without a notebook and without a pencil, but he did have a video; its cover was blacked out. He mussed Hazue's hair as he passed, but otherwise was focussed solely on the door to Kaidoh's bedroom. Hazue ignored the call to dinner. He lingered at the bottom of the stairs and listened.

"What the hell?!" was the sudden shout. "The fuck is this, Inui-sempai?"

Inui's reply was much quieter, smoother, but Hazue could hardly make out the words. An apology, he supposed. Perhaps an excuse. (That's how Hazue would have written it, anyway.) And half a second later, Inui stumbled down the stairs. Kaidoh threw the video tape after him.

His chance was here. The tape was at his feet and he could see the title and rating now. ( _Oh, so this is porn._ ) And Inui had run out of the house without saying goodbye, but he'd left the door open and Hazue could see through the screen door that Inui had stopped just beyond the gate.

Hazue scooped up the tape.

 

05.

It was not quite as expected.

Inui had slid to the sidewalk outside the fence and was touching himself through his pants, groaning a bit, looking miserable despite it. Hazue tapped him on the head with the tape and smirked when Inui startled. He hovered the tape a bit lower.

"Aa," Inui nodded as he took the tape from Hazue's grasp. "Thanks, Hazue-kun."

"My brother is straight," Hazue said.

Inui nodded some more. "I had figured that out finally."

"You should have asked," Hazue told him, "instead of letting your bias lead you to this conclusion."

"Yes," Inui sighed. "I'll keep that in mind."

Hazue sank to the ground next to Inui. "Can I do anything for you?"

A huff from Inui; he took off his glasses, wiped at his face and turned to look at Hazue. "Just what is this about, Hazue-kun?"

Drama club was fun for Hazue. He enjoyed the limelight and the attention and the praise. But Inui didn't come to watch plays. And Inui's attention was all Hazue had been wanting.

"I'd like a notebook with my name on it," Hazue declared.

Inui's eyes rolled at him. "Why would I do such a thing? You don't play tennis."

"Because," and Hazue didn't even have to change the tones of his voice - just a drawling of his speech pattern, the long 's', the dip of darkness around Inui's name - while he tilted his chin out and leaned his head back and looked up at Inui through heavy lashes and pouted just a bit with his lower lip:

"Because Inui-sempai, I can be what you need, when you need it. And I don't like girls."


	2. Chapter 2

Inui's not sure why he's allowed this. Yet, at the same time, he knows exactly why.  
  
He's standing in the center of the Inui's bedroom, ramrod straight and arms slack at his sides. He's dressed casually in a t-shirt and knee-length shorts. His hair is not quite right... Textured and a little wild and traditional black, but its too clean cut and intended as if he had told a stylist what he had wanted. His expression, too, is not quite what Inui has expected. The mouth is parted carefully and the eyes are subtly wider than usual, but then, those eyes also hold something they've never held before.  
  
Desire. Wanting.  
  
Hazue's eyes dip quickly. Down and up as if it's just a habit, a gesture. His lips circle together, and he hisses softly, "Inui-sempai."  
  
Inui swallows back his reply.  
  
He has a single slender notebook laid flat on his desk. The others are on shelves, but this one... Hazue had been clear about what he had wanted out of his bargain. This notebook has to be brought out before each visit, and the title has to be clearly visible. It reads more simply than its predecessors. "Kaidoh.H. Vol 1."  
  
It's more than a little disconcerting to see Hazue at his doorstep, in costume already, and see the way he stands, casually upright and graceful and mindless of the way he glides past Inui without waiting to be invited. Hazue climbs the stairs to Inui's bedroom and finds the notebook. His hands touch the notebook just once -- fingertips firm against the cover and thumbnail scratching at the page edges -- before changing.  
  
Hazue's shoulders go from perfect posture to slumped slightly forward. And his voice dips from the high youthfulness into the dark tones of his brother's voice.  
  
Inui couldn't quite help it.  
  
He's curious. It has always been his downfall. His craving for knowledge and understanding has him picking apart at details and finding anomalies and patterns. Even as he's being fooled into seeing Kaidoh's face and Kaidoh's expressions and Kaidoh's body language....  
  
Even as he's hearing Kaidoh's voice pronounce roughly ("Inui-sempai, kiss me,") Inui is making note of everything that is Hazue too. In the pleased curve of his mouth when Inui bends to do as he asks. In the tightening around his eyes when Inui hesitates for a fraction of a second.  
  
The fist that's curled around his shoulder, tightening when Inui threatens to withdraw, belongs to Hazue. None of that action belongs to the category of Kaidoh, and Hazue knows that. Even as Inui notices it, Hazue's fist is relaxing, going slack, and letting Inui go.  
  
Hazue is three years younger than him. Fourteen years old. Perhaps fifteen. Hazue has never told him his birthday. Inui could find out if he tried, but if he asked Kaidoh would give him a funny look (brows scrunched together, gaze vaguely suspicious).  
  
Hazue is three years younger than him and carrying out this elaborate scheme with the ruthless sort of efficiency that Inui might have used on the courts. Hazue knows that Inui wants Kaidoh, and he knows that Kaidoh will never return that desire. Inui would like to think that he wouldn't have taken advantage of the situation, even if he'd had the ability and the opportunity, but he isn't certain.  
  
"Inui-sempai?"  
  
Hazue's voice is leaking through the facade. A subtle lift at the end of his inquiry that Kaidoh would never have voiced. (Kaidoh's voice would have stayed flat. Kaidoh might have even stayed completely silent and waited Inui's hesitation out.) But Hazue... Hazue is the one who is nervous, the one who is afraid.  
  
It is the single trait that Inui knows to be exhibited in both brothers.  
  
They are afraid of losing. The prospect of losing is hated, passionately.  
  
It is perhaps that which makes Inui lean back as he slides his hand around Hazue's neck, slipping around the back. His fingers brush through the hairline, and he pulls Hazue to him. Inui kisses chastely, hardly open mouthed, and pulls back again.  
  
Hazue's gaze is a bit out of focus. He licks cautiously at his lips.  
  
"Was that good?" Inui asks.  
  
Hazue nods slowly. "Yes." He swallows heavily and sways imperceptibly forward. "Inui-sempai..."  
  
Inui hums as he kisses Hazue again. He doesn't think that he'll let Hazue every see the inside of his notebook. Just yet. It might be interesting to see him get upset to find it completely blank.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During practice, Tezuka witnesses something he'd rather not.

It's not obvious, so at first, Tezuka sees nothing unusual. The regulars at Seigaku high school are just as popular now as they were in junior high, and family members of the team are not an uncommon sight in the audiences that gather for the team's practices. Still, most of them stay outside of the courts.

But Tezuka cannot quite tell Kaidoh Hazue to leave.

Hazue is seated firmly on the end of one of the benches. He looks a lot like his brother in his junior high uniform -- black from neck to ankle -- but he's almost completely disinterested in tennis. Tezuka knows Hazue's just waiting for a ride home as soon as Kaidoh is free from practice, but he takes a small amount of pride in noticing things. It's those things that might determine the best doubles team or the mightiest singles player; those things tell him what to discourage and encourage and how.

To his credit, Hazue is subtle. He pretends to be absorbed in a novel and hides his face behind it. He glances up only briefly -- at Kaidoh when he approaches and murmurs something at him; when a tennis ball rattles the fence behind him; at nothing at all, sometimes, Tezuka had thought.

But Tezuka notices that a girl is waiting for Kaidoh after practice. She smiles at Kaidoh through a light blush, and he greets her softly, fingers twitching nervously at his sides. Tezuka watches Kaidoh turn back toward Hazue, who looks up without being called. Kaidoh gives Hazue a long look, to which Hazue rolls his eyes and waves him on. Kaidoh frowns briefly and ducks away with the girl's hand folded in his.

Tezuka is packing his gear away, when Hazue tucks his book into his backpack and stands up. Hazue rolls his shoulders and pops his neck with a sigh. He brushes imaginary dirt from the pants of his uniform and glides up behind Inui, who is seated on a nearby bench. He settles his hands on Inui's shoulders, and Inui turns to look at him. Inui doesn't see Tezuka watching, but Hazue notices.

It's not that Hazue smiles, exactly, but the corners of his eyes crinkle a little when his gaze lifts to meet Tezuka's. It's not that his voice is particularly different from what Tezuka recognizes, but Tezuka is used to hearing him being precisely respectful in both tone and terminology. So, the way that Hazue speaks is both odd and revealing.

"Are you ready to go, Inui-sempai?"

Tezuka purposefully scrapes his sneakers against the gravel to keep from hearing Inui's reply. Kaidoh is already aware, and while he's probably not approving of whatever is happening between Hazue and Inui, he isn't doing anything to stop it either. And if Kaidoh has decided that it isn't his business, Tezuka doesn't want to know either.

Hazue brushes up against Tezuka's side casually as he and Inui pass. He has his backpack hitched over his shoulder. His eyes focus on Tezuka, and his lashes dip slowly.

"See you next practice, Tezuka-buchou."

Well. There goes that plan.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short conversation between the two characters during practice.

"I've heard something interesting about your brother," said Fuji by way of greeting as he set down his tennis racket and toweled off the sweat from practice off of his brow. Other than that slight sheen to his forehead, he seemed unaffected by the sting of matches he had just finished.

Hazue lifted a brow and continued reading.

"Just rumors, really," continued Fuji casually. "It'd be difficult not to pay attention to them considering. Perhaps I should tell him about them."

Hazue made a small noise of distracted attention.

Fuji echoed it. "Perhaps you're right," he said. "Kaidoh might not appreciate it. He might find it embarrassing, in fact, if I tell him anything." But Fuji's expression did not reflect his words. His gaze sought out Kaidoh's face among the tennis players.

Hazue turned a page in his book. "My brother's straight."

Fuji had the decency to lightly laugh, but ruined it by replying: "Good. I like challenges."


End file.
